Into the Light
by svett89
Summary: A different and expanded take on the events at the Apollo Lens. What is truly on one's mind when faced with a difficult choice? One-shot, spirit/soul-shipping. Rated T just in case.


**Alright, this is the first, and so far only, fic I've ever written.**

**Ever since the first time I finished Dark Dawn I have always been a little disappointed when it comes to the ending. I think Camelot really missed an oppurtunity to add a lot more feeling to the final scenes in the game. This is a one-shot of a slightly altered ending to Golden Sun: Dark Dawn based around spirit/soul-shipping. I am torn when it comes to the introduction of the story but, in the end, I decided to keep it as it is. The main focus of the story becomes apparent after the first few paragraphs which mostly serve as build up.**

**I find using the FanFiction editor kind of confusing as I'm having a hard time getting it to save blank steps between paragraphs. That is the reason I have used the horizontal lines feature at several places in this fic. Basically, think of the horizontal lines as the marking of a new paragraph.**

**As this is my first fic I would love some reviews. English is not my first language so please excuse any grammatical errors or incorrect use of vocabulary. I have tried to proof read it to the best of my abilites but spotting mistakes in my own work is an area that I still need a lot of practice in.**

**Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and all characters and places mentioned are owned by Camelot and Nintendo.**

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><p>Matthew's senses no longer served him. Why could he not feel his own heart beating in his chest? Why did he not feel the cool air of the Apollo Sanctum in his lungs? He didn't have time to lie around, the Eclipse still needed to be stopped. Or had it already been stopped? Had it ever even happened? Matthew desperately tried to focus, searching for the answers within his own memories.<p>

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><p>At first there was nothing, just the same darkness that the rest of his senses were experiencing. Suddenly he saw a fleeting shadow, the outline of a face. The picture slowly got clearer and suddenly snapped into focus with an almost blinding clarity. It was his mother, her face covered in a smile as she looked down at him. Her fiery red hair was tied in two braids that hung loose along her sides. Close behind her stood his father, his icy blue eyes fixed upon Matthew. Matthew tried to speak to them, yet no words came to mind. His gaze turned downwards towards their feet. If this was death, then he had failed them. He had not been able to stop the Eclipse, he had not lived up to their legacy. So why did they smile at him? Matthew felt sorrow build up inside of him and instinctively tried to bite his lip, only to find he had no lip to bite and no teeth to bite it with. In frustration he turned his gaze upward again to at least try to get some kind of response out of his parents. As his eyes started darting upwards they suddenly snapped onto something though. His mother's braids, reaching all the way to her knees, had switched colour. Rather than Jenna's natural red hair, Matthew found himself looking at the tips of two white braids, each with a tightly knotted band around them. He turned his gaze further upwards, his vision suddenly blurred by tears rising in the eyes he doubted he still possessed. Through his clouded vision, he could see a familiar face smiling towards him. Her two pointed ears hanging alongside her head in a look of... Sadness? Even a hint of regret? As he simply stared into her eyes, Matthew suddenly saw a hand being placed on her shoulder. He switched his gaze to the owner of the hand, the man standing at the back, and flood of memories and emotions came rushing into his mind. The man who had previously been his father, was now Matthew himself.<p>

- "_It is time to go, Matthew."_

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><p>Matthew was once more in control of his thoughts. The air felt fresh in his lungs. It had a foreign scent. It smelled clean, rejuvenating. He opened his eyes and looked upon the group that stood around him, gathered below the ladder to the Apollo Lens's controls. They all appeared slightly different than how he remembered them. They were clearer, he noticed small things in their features that he'd never seen before. Kraden's head was bowed in respect. His silver gray hair glistening even though he was standing in the shade. There was Tyrell, looking at him with a furrowed brow. Karis was standing next to him, a look of worry apparent in her eyes. Next to her was Rief, biting his lip, looking towards the ground. He was holding his glasses, shattered from the heated battle that had taken place. There was Amiti, his face betraying no emotion, yet a fire was burning in his eyes. Eoleo was standing in the back, a sad smile playing in the corner of his lip. Himi stood with closed eyes facing the sky, her lips moving in a silent prayer.<p>

- "_They are all here... All my friends..." _Matthew thought to himself, _"No... There is one missing... Where is Sveta?"_

- "_I am here, Matthew," _he heard Sveta say within his own mind, _"don't you remember?"_

And suddenly, Matthew remembered. The deadly light on top of the Apollo Lens, how no amount of Umbra powers could protect anyone there. He remembered how Sveta had said she would head up there and finish what they had started, how he had offered to take her place, even though he knew fully well that it was impossible for him to utilise the Umbra gear. He remembered how she had given him a sad smile at the offer. He remembered the anger he felt at himself for being powerless to change the fact that only she, through sacrificing her own life, had the slightest chance of stopping the Eclipse. He remembered how he had refused to let her go, and how he finally had offered her the only help he could:

- "_Borrow my strength..."_

She had looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow. She had tried to refuse, to argue that there was no point in him sacrificing himself too. He had taken her hands in his and calmly stated:

- "_If you do not make it, if the light overpowers you before you can activate the Apollo Lens, then you have died for nothing. If that happens, I would rather have the light take me too."_

Her eyes had met his, and for a moment he could see tears building up at the side of her eyes. She had quickly blinked to make them go away, and then proceeded to whisper:

- "_Thank you."_

He had caressed her. As he held her tightly in his arms their Psynergy had intertwined, and he had provided her with his strength by letting his soul join with hers.

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><p>As Matthew went through the final events before their melding in his mind, he felt a sudden deep sorrow fill his soul. Yet the sorrow felt different, it was not his own. He felt tears slowly rolling down his face as he observed his own body, lying still on the stone floor, through the eyes of Sveta.<p>

Their minds worked in unison as they took their first steps towards the ladder leading up to the Apollo Lens's controls. At the base of the ladder they stopped. Matthew tried to encourage her to press on, to have the courage to start the climb. He touched her mind, trying to share with her his determination. Yet he felt that Sveta's hesitation was not due to fear for her own life. There was something different, a desperate feeling of regret that filled her thoughts.

- "_I am so sorry, Matthew... This should have been my burden, not yours." _Sveta did not have to formulate the sentence, her thoughts lay open to him. The sorrow that filled her words were unlike anything that could ever have been said verbally, and every word caused Matthew to share the sensation of regret and desperation that was put into them. He tried to fight the feelings, tried to keep his spirit up.

- "_Don't be sorry, Sveta. There is no other place where I'd rather be right now."_

- "_Why?" _her thoughts were suddenly filled with a desperate sense of rage, _"WHY DID YOU DO IT? How could you make me agree to it? You deserve better than this..."_ her rage subsided as quickly as it had appeared, and in its place Matthew felt a return to the sorrow and regret she had previously experienced. Her tears were rolling freely as she tilted her, or rather their, head towards the top of the ladder that lead to the Apollo Lens's controls. Her next thoughts were merely a whisper that Matthew could barely make out:

- "_There is nothing left for me. I have lost my brother, I have seen my people die because of me. If this is what it takes to at least set some of it right, then I will gladly make that sacrifice. But it is my responsibility, not yours."_

- "_Neither you or your brother are to blame for what happened, Sveta. He was tricked by the Tuaparang, and you played no part in it."_

- "_I don't blame Volechek, he always acted the way he thought best for our people. No... It is not his fault. It is mine. I should have prevented the Alchemy Dynamo from ever starting. I was there, I should have been stronger... I should have managed to stop them."_

Her words caused Matthew to express his next thoughts with a sudden force that he did not expect:

- "_You are not responsible for the activation of the Alchemy Dynamo, I am."_

- "_Don't try to make me feel better, Matthew. You had no way of knowing anything about the Alchemy Dynamo. I am the princess of Morgal, I've spent my whole life in Belinsk, I should have known better than I did."_

- "_Sveta, I was the one who couldn't stop Ryu Kou from claiming the Magma Orb, I was the one who lead our group into the Belinsk ruins, right into the hands of the Tuaparang and Alex. I was the one who should have known better, Sveta. If you want to blame anyone, blame me."_

- "_I would never blame you, Matthew. It is because of you that we're standing here right now, finally about to end this nightmare." _

As her thoughts reached his mind, they took a step towards the ladder, placing their hand on one of its steps.

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><p>They started their ascent together. Their final ascent. Their minds worked in unison to guide their hands and feet along the steps of the ladder. When they had reached a third of the way, Matthew felt the sense of hesitation in Sveta's thoughts increase.<p>

- "_Matthew... It is not too late... I can still break our bond. I can finish this myself. You should not have to go through with this."_

Matthew could sense the doubt in her words. He knew she had the willpower to reach the top of the Apollo Lens, but he also knew that the pure light energy at the top could mean the end of her before she could activate it. She needed his strength to make sure that she could pull through.

- "_Sveta, I already told you, this is not your responsibility alone. If anything, I should be the one doing this on my own, not you."_

They climbed another few steps and reached the halfway point where Sveta again hesitated.

- "_Matthew, I..."_

- "_I know."_

_- "I can't..."_

- "_I know."_

Again working in perfect unison, they climbed the steps of the ladder until they were just below the platform that held the controls for the Apollo Lens. They made a final stop, breathing deeply. Feeling the scent of the wind, hearing the gentle breeze twist its way around the pillars that filled the Apollo Sanctum. There was silence in between them, both enjoying what would be the last things their senses would experience. Suddenly, Sveta broke the silence in their minds:

- "_Matthew, what you said about there not being any place where you'd rather be than this... Do you truly mean it?"_

Matthew knew she could sense his sincerity. His mind was completely open to her, but he realised she needed to hear him express it one more time.

- "_Sveta, I have never been more certain about anything in my entire life."_

Sveta's hesitation was gone. He could feel their body trembling as they reached for the final step of the ladder.

- "_Thank you... Matthew..."_

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><p>They reached the summit. Pure light energy washed over them, the power of the Umbra gear flickering and fading at a rapid rate. By combining the power of their minds, they stumbled over to the controls for the Apollo Lens. They raised their arm, and as the final spark of the Umbra gear's field of dark energy faded around them, a stream of pure light, aimed straight at Luna Tower, shot out of the Apollo Lens.<p>

- "_It is done."_

At that moment, the Umbra gear finally failed. The dark aura that had surrounded them was gone, and the light showered their unprotected body. In the split second that was left before the light swallowed them, a single thought occupied both Matthew's and Sveta's minds, now in absolute unity:

- "_I love you."_

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><p><strong>Thanks a lot for reading! I know the ending is really cliché, but I just couldn't resist. Sorry.<strong>

**Again, any reviews are very welcome. I would love some constructive criticism to improve my writing as I don't have anyone to proof read or give me feedback.**


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